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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules FBI Admission Microscopic Hair Analysis Wrong 90% of the Time is Newly Discovered Fact Allowing Untimely Post-Conviction Relief Petition
by Christopher Zoukis
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowed the post-conviction relief petition of a prisoner on death row to go forward to hearing based on a highly unusual “newly discovered fact,” viz., a 2015 FBI press release (“Press Release”) that admitted, for the first time, that microscopic hair analysis testimony ...
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More from this issue:
- Study: Unionized Police? Increased Misconduct, by Derek Gilna
- ‘Serious Bodily Harm’ Does Not Include Animals, Massachusetts Supreme Court Holds, by Dale Chappell
- Georgia Supreme Court Vacates Convictions and Sentences Due to Merger Errors, by Matthew Clarke
- Rhode Island High Court Abolishes Shatney in Initial Application for Postconviction Relief by Prisoners Serving Life Without Parole, by Matthew Clarke
- North Dakota Supreme Court Announces Interpretation of Restitution Statutes, by Christopher Zoukis
- Fifth Circuit: 96-Day Pretrial Detention Without Appearance Before Judge or Chance to Post Bail Violates Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Rights, by Matthew Clarke
- Fifth Circuit Holds Prisoner May Sign and Deliver Habeas-Related Motion on Behalf of Fellow Prisoner Under Prison Mailbox Rule, by Dale Chappell
- Federal Judge Excludes Evidence After FBI Lies on Search Warrant Affidavit, Geek Squad on FBI payroll, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Black Identity Extremists’ Added to FBI List of Domestic Terrorists, by Christopher Zoukis
- The G-Men are Coming: Local Cops Partner with Federal Authorities to Deport Undocumented Immigrants, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Supreme Court: Death Penalty Case Involving Racist Juror Requires Further Consideration, by Christopher Zoukis
- Ohio Supreme Court Holds State Cannot Prove ‘Bulk Amount’ of Fentanyl Under Statute, by Dale Chappell
- Colorado Supreme Court: Conviction of Drunk Motorist for Attempted Reckless Manslaughter and Attempted Second Degree Assault Requires Risk to Discernable Person, Not Merely Public At-Large, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Supreme Court Resolves Split Among Circuit Courts of Appeals on Tax Code § 7212(a), by Richard Resch
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Drug Smuggling Conviction for Improper Exclusion of Evidence of Third-Party Culpability, by Christopher Zoukis
- Arizona Supreme Court: Trial Court Must Tell Jury Defendant Ineligible for Parole in Death Penalty Phase, by Dale Chappell
- Iowa Supreme Court Rules District Courts Have Authority to Hear Postconviction Relief Actions Involving Deprivation of Liberty or Property Interest, by David Reutter
- Innocence be Damned: Prosecutors Who Disregard Justice in Push to Win at Any Cost, by Dale Chappell
- Cautionary Tale: Visible Fingertips in Cellphone Pictures Can Get You Arrested, by Steve Horn
- D.C. Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Breached Plea Agreement by Providing Defendant’s Confidential Statements to Sentencing Court, by Dale Chappell
- Colorado Supreme Court Limits Bottom End of Aggravated Sentencing Statute for Habitual Sex Offenders, by Christopher Zoukis
- New Report: 60 Percent of Exonerations Stem from Official Misconduct, by Steve Horn
- Washington High Court Issues New Rule Making Immigration Status Inadmissible, by Derek Gilna
- ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Diagnoses Discredited, Convictions Questioned, by Matthew Clarke
- Captured: ‘Golden State Killer’ Wanted for 12 Murders and 50 Rapes Turns Out To Be Former Sacramento-Area Cop, by Derek Gilna
- Louisiana: No Charges for Cops Who Shot Alton Sterling, Despite Body-Cam Evidence, by Monte McCoin
- Coast to Coast, Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Waste Money, Create Havoc, by Sandy Rozek
- ‘Broken Windows’ Policing Results in Police Lying About Unlawful Stops, by Matthew Clarke
- Drug-Induced Homicide Laws Hurt Rather Than Help Opioid Overdose Crisis, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules FBI Admission Microscopic Hair Analysis Wrong 90% of the Time is Newly Discovered Fact Allowing Untimely Post-Conviction Relief Petition, by Christopher Zoukis
- Habeas Hints: Understanding and Satisfying the Strickland Test for IAC, by Kent A. Russell, Tara Hoveland
- Book Review: California Habeas Handbook 2.0 by Kent A. Russell, by Christopher Zoukis
- Victory: Virginia Supreme Court Delivers Blow to Police Use of License Plate Reader Technology to Track Drivers, Surveil Citizens, by The Rutherford Institute
- U.S. Supreme Court Holds Residual Clause Definition of ‘Crime of Violence’ Unconstitutionally Vague Under Due Process Clause, by Dale Chappell
- Vague Criminality and Mass Incarceration: Will Dimaya End the Insanity?, by Leah Litman
- New York Times Investigation Spotlights NYPD Practice of ‘Testilying’, by Derek Gilna
- News in Brief
- Sex Offender Registries: Common Sense or Nonsense?, by Christopher Zoukis
More from Christopher Zoukis:
- The Contraband Wars Prison authorities target books and mail, miss the goods coming through the staff door, July 1, 2021
- Trump v. Biden on Criminal Justice, Oct. 1, 2020
- Coronavirus in Prison: The Cruel Reality, Aug. 1, 2020
- With Lives of Immigrant Detainees at Risk to COVID-19, Federal Judge Forces ICE’s Hand, July 1, 2020
- A Nation on the Brink, June 15, 2020
- Federal Court Slams Michigan Jail for Bungling COVID-19 Pandemic, Demands Names of Vulnerable Prisoners for Release, June 1, 2020
- Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, June 1, 2020
- New York Judge Orders Release of 18 Rikers Island Detainees Due to COVID-19 Risk, June 1, 2020
- Coronavirus: A Nationwide Survey of the Push for Early Release as Pandemic Fears Grow, May 1, 2020
- California Three-Judge Court Denies Emergency Motion to Reduce Prison Population During Pandemic, May 1, 2020
More from these topics:
- Forensic Genetic Genealogy: Law Enforcement’s Rapid Adoption Outpacing Adoption of Laws and Ethical Guidelines Regulating Its Use, June 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples.
- University of New Hampshire Designs a Simpler, Cost-Effective Test to Identify Touch DNA, June 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples.
- AC Units and DNA, June 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Forensic Sciences.
- The FBI’s Rapidly Expanding DNA Database, April 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Databases, Police State-Surveillance.
- New York Court of Appeals Reverses Conviction Because Testifying Criminalist Not Shown to Have Requisite Involvement in DNA Testing Process and Provides Guidance to Avoid Future Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause Violations, March 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Eyewitness Testimony, Crime Lab Reports.
- Steady Improvement in Techniques for the Analysis of Degraded DNA, Feb. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, DNA Testing/Samples.
- Human DNA Retrieved From Dogs Might Provide Evidence, Jan. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, DNA Evidence.
- Use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy Searches to Identify Suspects Needs Regulation and Can Be Challenged, Dec. 15, 2023. Commentary/Reviews, DNA Testing/Samples, Warrants - General Search.
- New York Court Rules Police Allowed to Use Familial DNA Searches, Dec. 15, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, DNA Evidence.
- DNA Matches Dead Australian to Nebraska Prisoner Who Escaped 56 Years Ago, Nov. 15, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, Escapes.